Last Updated on March 1, 2024
In honor of International Women’s Day on March 8, 2024, our team is sharing chefs from around the globe who are leaders of culinary and wine programs at some impressive establishments.
It’s no secret that, unfortunately, males still dominate the culinary industry. However, as time goes on, the gap is closing. Not soon enough for those of us who believe that women can do just about anything they put their minds to!
We’re seeing evidence of this in the wine and whiskey industry, booming with talented and committed females.
Back to the culinary and sommelier scene, these are the women leading the charge at top hotels and inns.
Elaine Heide, Wine Director, The Allison Inn & Spa
Sommelier is a male-dominated position, but Elaine Heide stands out as a strong female leader in the industry. In her role as Wine Director at The Allison Inn & Spa, Heide leads all wine programming at the 85-room, award-winning, Willamette Valley, Oregon resort, including the wine service at the resort’s signature restaurant JORY.
She works with Executive Chef Jack Strong and Master Gardener and Resident Beekeeper, Anna Ashby, to refresh and elevate menus and wine lists as well as the overall dining experience for guests and locals.
Elaine is innovating the wine programming with inventive touches like introducing an interactive iPad wine list, where guests can build a wish list of wines to try if they’re torn between options, and see images of the labels for future reference. The iPad menu even allows the in-house sommeliers to see from the back end what wines the table has been looking at so they can suggest options that might not be on guests’ radar.
With over 20 years of experience as a skilled wine professional, holding multiple certifications and acting as Director of Education on the board of Our Legacy Harvested, a non-profit organization founded in 2020 to educate, advance, and empower the BIPOC community in the wine industry, Elaine is a leading figure in this field.
Michelle Weaver, Culinary Ambassador + Suzy Castelloe, Chef de Cuisine, The Charleston Place
The Charleston Place’s Charleston Grill restaurant has long been an ode to female culinary leadership. Previous Executive Chef of Charleston Grill, Michelle Weaver, built her distinct approach to food upon a convergence of her growing up on the iron-skillet Southern cooking of her mother and, as an adult, the mentorship of Chef Bob Waggoner.
Weaver followed Waggoner to Charleston Grill in 1997, where she assisted in the kitchen, learning the nuances of French-influenced cuisine while developing a love for Lowcountry ingredients. After years at the restaurant, 14 as Executive Chef, she continues to carve out a lasting legacy while developing the reputation of culinary excellence at Charleston Grill in her new role as Culinary Ambassador.
Sous chef Suzy Castelloe, who has worked alongside Chef Michelle for years, stepped into the role and is continuing the legacy of female leadership at The Grill as Chef de Cuisine. She’s crafted an imaginative new menu, which showcases elevated Lowcountry cuisine with dishes like Imperial Osetra Caviar with crème fraiche, local coast oysters with merlot mignonette and shallot, and braised pork shank ragout with ricotta cavatelli.
Eugénie Béziat, Executive Chef, Espadon at Ritz Paris
Ritz Paris has recently opened the much-anticipated fine-dining restaurant Espadon, helmed by Chef Eugénie Béziat.
Béziat is the first-ever female head chef at Ritz Paris. Before coming to the Ritz, she worked at a Michelin-starred restaurant in a small town in the South of France, where August Escoffier (the chef who co-founded the hotel with César Ritz in 1898) was born.
The atmosphere at Espadon immerses guests in a universe that reflects Chef Béziat’s distinctive sensibility, poised between two continents. Chef Béziat offers French gastronomy with memories of an African childhood and Provençal summers by the Mediterranean.
Krystle Swenson, Executive Pastry Chef, The Resort at Paws Up
Pastry Chef Krystle Swenson’s passion for sweets began in her home state of Hawaii. She honed her skills working at Pebble Beach and Bernardus Lodge in California, Blackbird in Chicago, and Crawford Hospitality in North Carolina before taking on the role of pastry chef of the Social Haus at the green o in Montana.
She is currently the Executive Pastry Chef at The Resort at Paws Up (Greenough, MT). Chef Swenson is also a twice-named James Beard Foundation Award nominee.
Lauren Doggett, Executive Pastry Chef, Alila Napa Valley
As the Executive Pastry Chef at Alila Napa Valley, Lauren oversees the bread, dessert, and pastry operations for the restaurant outlets, luxury resort and spa.
With more than 10 years of experience in the pastry industry, she has honed her skills in creating innovative and delicious pastries that delight guests and reflect local flavors and ingredients. Before joining Alila, Lauren worked as the Executive Pastry Chef at Crafted Concepts, a group of award-winning restaurants in Denver, where she designed and executed seasonal menus and supervised the pastry staff.
Lauren also had a stint as Pastry Chef de Partie at Eleven Madison Park, the three Michelin-starred restaurant in New York. She is currently working with Alila Napa Valley’s Culinary Director, Chef Thomas Lents on a new tasting menu for the signature restaurant’s upcoming reimagination.
Lastly, I would encourage you to look around your town to see who the female culinary leaders are and make a point to check out their restaurants. Dining out is fun and it’s really special when the meals are created by successful and talented female entrepreneurs.
